Coastal Delaware Running Festival-Marathon (DE), April 24th, 2016

Occasionally I will brainstorm a list of states I still need to run and in late 2015 I realized I hadn’t run one in Delaware.  What makes this a shocking realization is that I grew up there and visit my parents there on a regular basis.  Knowing I had logged countless miles as a cross country and track runner, along with having an entire drawer dedicated to my MS Society Thanksgiving 5 and 10k t-shirts, it was time to cross off a half or full.

I know that many people are surprised that Delaware is big enough to hold a marathon without having to run laps around the state, but it is.  My parents live in the northern part of the state, which is a beautiful area with some gentle hills.  Coastal Delaware, the southern part of the state is also beautiful and wonderfully flat.  Needless to say, I chose a race in the southern part.

Although it was flat, the course was not lacking in scenery and diverse views.  We started at the Dewey Beach lighthouse before heading into Rehoboth and enjoying a mile down the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.  The next 20 miles wound through Cape Henlopen State Park and salt water marshes, before turning south near Lewes and following a paved trail back to the post race party in Dewey (which was awesome, after 26 miles, you can’t beat sitting on a beach with lunch, a beer (or 2) and your bare feet in the sand).